Ravelry had a tiny bit of information but no personal experiences. Has anyone taken the plunge and bought one or knows of somebody who has or has any information about them?Thanks!

If you go to the Fibre Prep group in Ravelry there is a wealth of information, including personal experiences, there. You can also find groups for some of the individual carder makers such as the Fancy Kitty carders.

Posted - 02/05/2013 : 10:49:37 PM I just read this entire thread; thanks for bumping it up, RedAby. I'm currently carding a Cormo fleece on my guild's carder, and got caught up in all the great information. Of course, now I'm considering buying a drum carder too. Sorry I have no info to add here.

Robinsteph

Different is good. ~Matthew Hoover

RedAby

Posted - 01/31/2013 : 11:56:24 PM It's been a couple of years so I thought I'd rev up this topic again.I'm looking for a drum carder and was slightly amazed by the prices. I found a carder on ebay that I'd never heard of before made by Southern Comfort Products at a very attractive price. Ravelry had a tiny bit of information but no personal experiences. Has anyone taken the plunge and bought one or knows of somebody who has or has any information about them?Thanks!

oldhaus

Posted - 12/06/2011 : 2:56:18 PM Yes, My Patrick Green Triple Picker is a wonderful tool!It does take the "pasture" out of most any fiber (well, the bison was even much for it!) ha ha ha haaa

I sometimes will run the nastiest fiber through a 2nd time and it really does open up most fibers.

Just keep your hands clear! It is a great tool to have!

Joel...

quote:Originally posted by Shelia

(I'm catching up after a long weekend away)

I have a Strauch drum carder, and the way that I am able to card fine fibers without nepping is to pick well, card only a very small amount of fiber at a time, and turn the handle very, VERY slowly. It's such a temptation to crank the handle, especially when daydreaming, but that just creates more nepping.

Posted - 09/03/2011 : 12:53:03 AM 92ppi on lge drum, 72 on lickerin works for me, handles alpaca, that's been through a picker, merino and coarser greasy wool,that's been degreased, In a top loader, in (washing bags) cold water, 1/2 cup of truckwash, soaked for an hour or so, spun, rinsed twice cold, and spun only, NO AGITATION, it may start to felt, air dried on a rack, homemade, plastic coated 1/2"square wire mesh, fluffed on the picker. Card on! ... ... of course!

andgeoff

myraspinstoo

Posted - 05/02/2011 : 05:03:55 AM the drum carder questions still prevail. i am in the market for a drum carder. since the newest post in this thread is 2 years old, i thought i would ask the question again. which drum carder is the better one for carding not so fine fiber. i have some unwashed alpaca which i would like to card, but mostly i can see myself blending . i really like bfl and would probably be blending it with other stuff bamboo, silk etc. thanks in advance.

truly violet

Posted - 02/25/2009 : 06:18:34 AM i think i am just coming out to your house sheliai will have 6 tunis fleeces.....(whole not even skirted)and two bfl fleeces.......the same wayoh man

i really need to start to spin moreor i gotta send it all OUT to be spun

Posted - 02/24/2009 : 7:05:58 PM And if you're doing fleece, I think the electric Strauch is better than the PG. Unless you're doing mostly fine fibers. The PG is really set up for fine fibers and blending. I think the Strauch is great for working fleece, especially those that aren't really fine. JMO

Sorry, I don't have any comments about the David drum carder or the Kitten, though I can put in a good word for the Strauch carders and the Patrick Green electric carders. If you're going to be processing whole fleeces I would save up and go for an electric. I've tested the new Strauch electric and it s very nice, just wasn't available when I got my PG. Hand cranking is fine for color blending and small amounts of wool, but processing large amounts is a LOT of arm strain.

Posted - 02/24/2009 : 05:29:08 AM I just found this post but would like to add my 2 cents!

Just about 3 weeks ago, I bought a Kitten drum carder from Ron Anderson. IT IS AWESOME!! I wanted quality but didn't want to spend all my money - what would I buy fiber with?! I've put it to the test since I'm creating chunky, funky art yarn type batts full of stuff. When I had questions prior to and after buying, Ron was great with email responses and suggestions. I'm having a great time with it and highly reccommend it.

Posted - 02/22/2009 : 8:40:51 PM I've read through this thread and was hoping someone had experience with the David carder by the Howard Brush company. It has 3 drums and is supposed to process the fiber with fewer passes through the carder. My spinning teacher has a PG supercarder with 3 drums and really likes that. Any insight...?

Donna

yayoe

Posted - 02/03/2009 : 11:00:48 AM Hi Fiberfriends.

I'm about to buy a drum carder and am leaning towards the Strauch Petite for financial, amount of use foreseen, and minor space issues.

Before I hit the "buy now" button, I would still like to hear some feedback from anyone who has experience with a Fancy Kitty or Kitten carder. The price of the Kitten is very good, and I've seen lots of praise for the gorgeous looks of the more expensive Kitty, but how well do they work to card fleeces? I will be doing some blending and carding of prepared fiber, but I will definitely want to card fleeces. Doing Cormo by hand now.

Thanks for any feedback!

stseraphina

Posted - 07/03/2008 : 3:23:47 PM I'm selling my Petite (two months old!) because I'm just doing so much carding it is inadequate for my needs. It's a great little carder, but I'm doing full fleeces and needing pounds of carded wool, not just a project here and there.

It's the factory-assembled Petite, with brush attachment, like new (except for a few little fluffs!) with all tools, etc. Contact me if you're interested!

I have a Strauch drum carder, and the way that I am able to card fine fibers without nepping is to pick well, card only a very small amount of fiber at a time, and turn the handle very, VERY slowly. It's such a temptation to crank the handle, especially when daydreaming, but that just creates more nepping.

Posted - 06/09/2008 : 12:11:42 PM I have a PG triple picker, and I really like it. I could definitely spin what comes out of the picker, but unless you like yarn with a little texture, or you're drafting it out very thinly, it will still need to be carded. It's great for opening up matted fiber, and for color blending. I also use it when the fleeces have a lot of VM, it really works well to get a lot of that out.

Posted - 06/09/2008 : 08:09:11 AM Thanks for the advice! I've been reading a lot about the mini combs, and the 2 pitch ones are suggested for finer wools. They also are a lot less expensive. It is still going to take a while before I have any spending money, so I'll be continuing with the dog slicker and rake for a while. But I'd like to try the mini combs, and I figure that if they don't work on my current fleeces, there will be fleeces in the future that they will work for.

I tried to live with the neps and do a lumpy yarn, but since it wasn't my original intention, I didn't like it too much. I do have plenty of shorter cuts and neps that I'm combing out and my plan for that is to run it through the carder and make something bumpy on purpose.